


Switched

by killerweasel



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Swap, Everybody Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 14:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1350781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something goes wrong during Newt's Drift with the Kaiju brain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Switched

Title: Switched  
Fandom: _Pacific Rim_  
Characters: Newton Geiszler &Hermann Gottlieb, Stacker Pentecost  
Word Count: 1,756  
Rating: PG-13  
A/N: AU during the events of _Pacific Rim_  
Warnings: n/a  
A/N: This is for [feriowind](http://feriowind.tumblr.com)  
Summary: Something goes wrong during Newt's Drift with the Kaiju brain.

"Newton! Newton, what have you done?" Hermann dropped onto the floor with a hiss, ignored the fresh pain radiating through his leg, and worked on shutting off the make-shift PONS on Newt's head. For one very brief and horrible moment, he thought Newt was dead. He sagged with relief when he found a pulse.

Hermann carefully removed the PONS and set it on the floor. "Newton?" The smaller man's eyes fluttered open as blood dripped from his nose. Newt looked around wildly, yanking himself out of Hermann's grasp. He made horrible noises from his throat, noises human vocal chords weren't meant to produce. Hermann froze. He knew those sounds or at least something similar. Newt had all of the roars from the various Kaiju on his phone and would scroll through them when he wanted to bother Hermann.

A wild thought popped into Hermann's head. He didn't dismiss it right away, as he didn't have enough evidence to confirm his theory, but if he were correct, something very bad had happened. Newt was staring at him with wild, frightened eyes. Hermann tried to look as unthreatening as possible (and the idea that he could even be threatening was preposterous).

"Can you understand me?" He kept his voice soft, as if he were speaking to a scared animal. Newt blinked at him before tilting his head sideways. "My name is Hermann. I'm a... friend of Newton's. I know you're frightened and that this is very confusing, but I want to help, if I can."

"Ermn." Newt frowned. "Errmman. Erman!"

"That was very good." Hermann's praise earned him a smile with far more teeth than Newt usually showed. He wrapped his hand around his cane and slowly got to his feet. "Do you think you can stand?" He motioned for Newt to repeat the action.

It turned out to be easier said than done. Newt kept over balancing, like he would be more comfortable on four legs instead of two. When he finally managed to get upright, he wobbled a bit. Hermann reached out and gently steadied him. He didn't pull away from Hermann's touch.

"There." He patted Newt on the chest. "I'm going to get you some water. It will make you feel better. Just stay here."

When Hermann came back with a cup of water, Newt was looking at the colorful tattoos covering his arms. There was a puzzled look on his face. Hermann took a deep breath. "We call you Kaiju." Newt's head jerked up. "You recognize them, don't you?"

"Hvvve brohers." The words were followed by two differently pitched snarls. He took the cup from Hermann, licked at the contents, and then took a few swallows. "Erman." Newt touched Hermann's arm before pointing at himself. He let out another snarl, completely different from the previous ones.

"Ah." Hermann ran a shaky hand over his face. "Let me try." He imitated the noise as best as he could. Newt grinned at him. "Do you know where Newton is?"

"Coming." Newt gestured in the direction of the Breach. "Soon." He touched his temple. "Feel. Con... connec...?"

"You're connected." Hermann's eyes widened. "You're all connected." If they really were clones, as Newt predicted, and they shared a mental connection, the newer Kaiju would have access to all the memories of the previous ones. That certainly explained why a Kaiju emerging from the Breach in 2020 was able to focus on the weaker points of a Jaeger which hadn't fought anything in three years. The Kaiju learned and adapted while the fighting styles of the Jaegers tended to stay the same so long as they were still piloted by the same Rangers.

The cup of water tumbled from Newt's hand. Hermann stared as all the color drained from Newt's face. "What's wrong? Is it Newton?"

"Angry." Newt whimpered. "Hive Brother. Hunt. Find. Kill us."

"Are you trying to say that two Kaiju will be coming through?" Newt nodded. A chill went down Hermann's spine. While he'd predicted a double event, he'd never expected it to be because of something like this. "Why would the second hunt and kill you?"

"Wrong. Maaasters angry." Newt wrapped his arms around himself. "Kill other me, then hunt."

Newton. Hermann squashed down the panic threatening to take over. "I need to go speak with the Marshall. Stay here until I get back. We will try and keep you, keep both of you, safe. Do you understand?"

"Hermann. Friend." Newt sat down on the floor. "Safe."

\---

"Marshall!" Normally, Hermann wouldn't bother the Marshall during something this important, he tried not to ever bother the Marshall at all, but being as this was a matter of life and death, he made an exception.

"Dr. Gottlieb, I'm sure you can understand what this moment means to me." Pentecost kept his eyes on the Jaeger in front of him while Tendo reported both Rangers were in sync.

"Newton built a PONS out of garbage and Drifted with a chunk of Kaiju brain." Hermann took a step back at the look on Pentecost's face. "Sir, do you remember what happened to the Carlson twins before the PONS system was perfected?"

A hush fell through the room as the Marshall walked over to where Hermann was standing. "Are you telling me a Kaiju is trapped inside of Dr. Geiszler's head? Where is he?"

"He's... coming." Hermann's hand tightened on his cane until his fingers started to ache. "Apparently a second Kaiju will attack him on sight for being 'wrong'."

"Mr. Choi, monitor the Breach. Alert me the moment it starts to open." Pentecost spun on his heel. "Dr. Gottlieb, take me to Dr. Geiszler's body."

"Yes, Sir."

\---

"This is Marshall Pentecost. He'd like to talk to you. I will be right here." Hermann set his chair down next to Newt.

Pentecost studied Newt for a moment before sitting in his own chair. "How do we close the Breach for good?"

"Breach?" Newt gave Hermann a worried look.

Hermann reached out, setting his hand on Newt's shoulder. "He means the way you enter our world. We have never been able to pass through it ourselves with anything or anyone and we wish to know why."

"Only Hive Brothers come. No Masters. No Hermann." Newt muttered to himself in a series of growls and snarls while tugging at his hair. "Coming now."

"Sir, what if the Breach was programmed to only allow Kaiju material to pass through it? That would certainly explain why the bombs just bounced off the surface and we were never able to get a Jaeger inside." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If my calculations are correct, a second Kaiju will come through the Breach soon after the first. We might be able to use the corpse to open the doorway from our side."

"How sure can you be of this? We have very limited resources, Doctor."

Pentecost was about to say something else when alarms sounded over their heads. Newt cried out in fear, clutching his hands over his ears. The alarms were quickly replaced by Tendo's voice.

"Movement in the Breach. Both Category Four. Code names Otachi and Leatherback."

Pentecost was on his feet before Tendo had finished speaking. He pressed a few buttons on a view screen. "Both of you come here. I need you to figure out which of these is Dr. Geiszler so we can concentrate our attack on the other. Dr. Gottlieb, if we can keep the other Kaiju's brain intact, do you think you'd be able to use Dr. Geiszler's equipment to perform another Drift?"

"I'll find Newton's notes and get the equipment ready to be moved. We'll only have about eight minutes after the Kaiju is killed to do the Drift. After that, the brain will have died." Hermann stared at the video screen. The Kaiju were two of the largest he'd ever seen.

"Me." Newt's hand darted forward, pointing at the more lizard-like of the two Kaiju. "So much fear."

Tapping a key, Pentecost leaned forward as Tendo's face appeared. "Mr. Choi, I want everyone to concentrate on Leatherback. We need its head to remain undamaged. Avoid the other Kaiju at all costs. That's an order. I'll be in LOCCENT shortly."

After turning the viewer off, Pentecost started for the door. Hermann called after him. "Sir, if everything works, what are we going to do about Otachi?"

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it."

\---

Even a Category Four Kaiju was no match for the remaining Jaegers. The creature was killed with minimal damage to the Rangers. While Cherno Alpha, Crimson Typhoon, and Gipsy Danger dealt with the destruction of the Breach, Striker Eureka was tasked with getting Leatherback's head to the Shatterdome. It was the only Jaeger capable of moving at the speed needed.

A very impatient Hermann was waiting on the helicopter pad with Newt. There was a round of cheering from behind him as it was announced that the Breach had been closed. He tapped his cane impatiently on the cement as Striker Eureka lowered the head onto the helicopter landing pad. "Everything is ready. I just hope this works."

Following the instructions Newt had written about Drifting with a Kaiju brain, Hermann plunged the bizarre probe-like device into Leatherback's head with Newt's help. He walked over to the makeshift PONS equipment. "I can't believe he managed to make all this out of garbage." He fiddled with a few things before holding the PONS helmet out to Newt. "Bring him back, won't you?"

"Hermann." Newt placed the PONS on his head. "Help friend."

"Three, two, one..." Hermann pressed the button, activating the machine.

Newt cried out and would have fallen if Hermann hadn't caught him. The Drift only lasted a few minutes, but to Hermann, it was an eternity. He tugged the PONS from Newt's head. "Newton?"

Newt's eyes fluttered open. "Hermann, when I said I wanted to see a Kaiju up close, I never meant I wanted to be one."

Hermann laughed before clutching Newt closer. "If you ever do anything like that again, I'm going to kill you."

"What about her?" Newt pointed out towards the water where Otachi was surfacing. "Hermann, she's pregnant."

"How is that possible if they're clones?" He shook his head. "Never mind. We'll talk to the Marshall and figure something out. We couldn't have closed the Breach without her help."

Newt got to his feet slowly, using Hermann for support. "I've had a very interesting day."

"I can't wait to hear about it."


End file.
